JACKed Up!
by Wallyhorse
Summary: Based in part on the June 3, 2005 flip of legendary oldies station WCBSFM 101.1 in New York to the JACK format, Joe Fontana has Olivia Benson as a temporary partner and Jack McCoy and Alexandra Borgia work with Casey Novak for the first time Olivia and Ca
1. BJ Cameron is stabbed

Title: JACKed Up!  
Rating: T

Author: Walt

Disclaimers: This is strictly a story suggestion/fan fiction. The main "L & O" characters are owned by Dick Wolf, and are only borrowed for this story suggestion. Where I have names of actors listed for characters I created, those actors would be my first choices to play such characters unless it's the character the actor listed has previously played (and therefore is the property of Dick Wolf and borrowed for this suggestion). This is mainly based on the change of WCBS-FM (101.1) in New York from an oldies to a JACK format on June 3, 2005 and is also a partial follow-up to the "Special Victims Unit" season six episode "Obscene."

The story opens on a overcast, warm and humid late Friday night-early Saturday morning in early June with a young couple coming out of an all-night restaurant on 7th avenue and Sheridan Square after a night of partying at a club, walking northwest on what is West 4th street (which from 6th avenue in Manhattan goes in a northwest direction, eventually ending on 9th avenue and 13th street), seeing a man who appeared drunk staggering about a half-block ahead of them.

"Talk about some people having too much to drink", said the woman, named Rachel Ng.

"I know, right? Some people will never learn", said her boyfriend (Gene Young), who then looks down, afterwards saying to her, "You have quite a bit of red on your shoes", noticing such on a pair of white, flat soft leather loafers she was wearing with matching cuffed jeans and a black tube top under a long-sleeved, sheer top (he was wearing a black, open-collared dress shirt, jeans and loafers).

"Your right!", then said a somewhat-at-first slightly worried Rachel as she back-peddled, then realizing it was blood kicked off her shoes in a panic and put her hands to her mouth, seeing a trail that would go right up to where the man they thought was drunk had actually collapsed.

"Oh my god, it's B.J.!", screamed Gene after running over to see who it was as he called 911 on his cell phone while his girlfriend stayed where she was, while at the same time Joe Fontana ran over, having heard the scream.''

"That btch Spencer did it!", said a still-alive B.J. Cameron to Joe as he arrived, with the man and woman in shock as also running over was Olivia Benson, who like Joe happened to be in the area as in her case, she had just finished her week's work in the Special Victims Unit and was walking towards the subway, with Olivia pulling off the sweatshirt she was wearing and placing it on the stab wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"Holy Cow! B.J. was stabbed?", said Olivia to Joe while applying pressure to where B.J. was stabbed as an ambulance and uniformed backup arrive, who talk with the two people who saw this.

"Yeah, and he said someone named Spencer did it", then said Joe to Olivia.

"Yeah, that btch!", then said B.J. as he was being put on a stretcher and taken to St. Vincent's Hospital.

"You seem to know something about this Detective...", then said Joe to Olivia.

"Benson, but everyone calls me Olivia", then said she, with Joe formally introducing himself and Olivia subsequently saying to him, "You're Ed Green's new partner, aren't you?"

Joe replied, "Yes, though Ed's still on the mend right now, and until he comes back in a few weeks I actually don't have a regular partner since my temporary partner is on a vacation he planned well before Ed was shot."

"That's right, I knew Ed was shot, but I'm glad to hear he'll be back soon. Anyway, our victim was referring to Carolyn Spencer, who shot B.J. last fall. My partner Elliot Stabler mainly worked that case with the rest of the SVU because B.J. was responsible in part for what happened to Jessie Dawning", then said Olivia to Joe.

"I remember that whole case. I couldn't remember the name Carolyn Spencer and that she shot him", then said Joe to Olivia as they walked over to find the couple who saw B.J. walking before he collapsed.

Rachel would go first, "We were about a half-block behind him, and didn't see anyone else, so whoever did this had already done so. He looked like he was drunk the way he was walking from a distance, and it was only when my boyfriend saw what turned out to be B.J.'s blood on my shoes that we realized something was wrong and I freaked out, kicking them off at that point", while saying such pointing to where her shoes still were, with forensic officers taking those from there and going over the blood on the ground.

Gene followed, "I then ran over here and saw it was B.J., whom we happen to be loyal listeners of. He was in bad shape after that", with both then taken to their homes as they were still in shock. Uniformed officers were talking to several in a crowd that had formed around where West 4th street met up with 11th street going towards 8th avenue, with a few of them talking to Joe and Olivia seeing what they saw, including another couple who said the did see something suspicious.

The woman went first, saying, "We were about a half block away, walking down on West 4th from 12th where Hudson becomes 8th avenue. We saw what looked like a woman with shoulder-length hair run past us very quickly. What made her suspicious to us was, she was wearing a trench coat, and this is way too warm a night to be doing so" (the couple were both wearing T-shirts and flip-flops, with the man wearing shorts and the woman a knee-length denim skirt).

Her boyfriend would follow, saying, "She then ran across the street and likely stabbed whoever it was, but we were too far away to be sure. She looked like from what we could see was about middle-age. She also was wearing running shoes.

With that, what other people there said about seeing someone that matched the description of Carolyn Spencer and what B.J. said, while Joe had a brief phone discussion with Anita to fill her in on what happened, Olivia calls Casey Novak to get a warrant to search the home of Carolyn and meets Joe and Olivia there after she does so from Judge Lena Petrosky.

"What is this at 3:00 in the morning?", to Joe, Olivia and Casey said Carolyn Spencer as she opened the door to her apartment, with Joe and Olivia introducing themselves.

"We have a warrant to search your home, and you are under arrest for the attempted murder of B.J. Camreon", said Joe to Carolyn, who remained silent while she was brought to the 2-7 and remaining so until her attorney Michael Boatman showed up. While waiting, Anita was surprised to see Casey and not Alexandra Borgia before remembering that Joe and Olivia originally found B.J. and Olivia had called Casey, who is the SVU prosecutor.

"This is false on so many grounds you'll all be sued for this. Is this for getting back for not being able to get a guilty verdict for the earlier shooting?", said Michael to Casey outside the interrogation room, with Anita Van Buren watching as well.

"No, but we could try her again for that", said Casey to Michael, then pausing before moving inside the interrogation room, with Casey then telling Michael inside where Carolyn could hear them, "Your client was seen where B.J. Cameron was stabbed right before and after he was, and several witnesses saw her running."

"Who? Fans of B.J.? They would love to lie to get back at me for shooting him earlier!", yelled Carolyn.

"B.J. himself told Detective Benson and myself in no uncertain terms it was you, and we have other witnesses that put you there", then said Joe, with shortly after several witnesses coming down to the 2-7 that would in a lineup identify Carolyn as who they saw running to and from the area at the time the stabbing took place. In a special Saturday arraignment session later that morning, Carolyn is held without bail, but before that happens, word comes of a body found in Riverside Park around 77th street, which Joe and Olivia investigate, when getting there it appearing she died when her head hit a tree.

(continued in Part Two)


	2. Another dead body

Title: JACKed Up! (Part 2 of 6)  
Author: Walt

Rating: T

Disclaimers: See Part 1

"Oh my god, Shannon King", said Olivia upon finding who it was.

"The one who 'accidentally' stripped naked last year at the championship game?", then asked Joe.

"The one and only", then said Olivia, who after pausing for a second to push a man with a camera out of the way then said to Joe, "She was supposedly wearing a two-layered dress at last year's halftime show at the big game, but when that other guy went to tear one layer off of her, both layers came off and she was completely nude, save for a thong."

"Of course. And a lot of people complained about that", then said Joe.

"Enough so, coupled with Carolyn Spencer's actions to where B.J. decided he was going to go to satellite as soon as his contract was up next August", then said Olivia, who then saw a note next to Shannon's body, with Olivia then asking Joe what "You've been JACKED up!" meant.

"Oh my god!", then said Joe.

"What?", asked Olivia.

"Could it be that whoever did this was actually someone who thought that Shannon King was responsible for (place call letters here)-FM going from oldies to the what is being called the Craig format this past Tuesday night?", then asked Joe.

"And how would that happen?", said Olivia.

"It's a long shot, but….", then said Joe.

"Oh, I see what you mean. If Shannon King hadn't have her infamous act at the big game, there would not have been the crackdown that eventually led to B.J. feeling he had to leave for satellite the way Howard Stern is going to at the end of this year. In turn, knowing they have to replace the revenue from the B.J. show when he leaves next year, you wouldn't have had the pressure on (place call letters here-FM's parent company) to go to what is being called the Craig format here, though most everywhere else it's known as Jack", then said Olivia.

"Exactly. I know a lot of people who are angry about the fact that (place call letters here)-FM flipped the format without allowing the air personalities who had been there for years and are some of the real legends of New York Radio to have one final goodbye", then said Joe.

"Same here. I know way too many people who were upset and angered by what happened earlier this week", then said Olivia, who then asks Joe, "By the way, how do you know it's called 'Jack' elsewhere?"

Joe replied, "Lady friend of mine in the radio business. She told me when the switch was made they decided to call it 'Craig' instead of 'Jack' because everyone else calls it 'Jack'."

The Detectives then talk to people at the scene with no success, while forensic experts then estimate the time of death as around 11:00 PM the night before, meaning she was actually murdered before B.J. was stabbed.

"She apparently was running north through the park and whoever did this most likely came out of nowhere and stabbed her before she had a chance to defend herself. She probably died when her head hit that tree", said the forensic officer, with Olivia then seeing a black object in the distance that turned out to be a very chunky black clog, with some blood on it that later would turn out to match the victim.

"Could it be whoever did this got blood on her shoes and kicked them off, figuring either no one would find them or a dog would chew them up?", asked Olivia to Joe.

"Very likely", then said Joe as they then found was an identical shoe with blood on that also, in both cases about a block south of where the victim was found.

A woman who was walking her dog comes forward at that point, identifying herself as Claire Harper, who after being introuduced to the Detectives would say to them, "I saw something odd last night when I was on my way home, but I simply thought it was some kids fooling around in the park since there seem to often be on Friday nights. Some alarm bells should have gone off however when I saw this woman running out of the park barefoot but wearing a trench coat as it was a bit warm for that, but it looked like she might have been simply upset over something, perhaps jilted by a boyfriend and at the time I was thinking she might have simply been wearing a bathing suit under her coat trying to impress one. She had shoulder length reddish-brown hair as well."

Joe and Olivia would thank her and then talk to other witnesses who had also been walking their dogs at that time, also noting seeing the woman running a couple of blocks south of there, but another witness named Colleen Murphy, who had come by with her dog noted and overheard some of what was said then noted to the detectives, "I was up around 79th around 10:00 PM when that particular woman was up there, though she was wearing a pair of very chunky clogs with her trench coat, which I found odd because it was a very sticky night. She looked very antsy at that point, like something bad was going to happen to her."

That had the detectives convinced that Carolyn had actually murdered Shannon King first, then kicked off her shoes in the park because of the blood on them, ran home, changed to running shoes and then attempted to murder B.J. about 90 minutes later.

After that, Joe and Olivia return to the 2-7, where waiting for them were Anita VanBuren and also Don Cragen, Elliot Stabler, John Munch and Odafin Tutuola, who were brought in because Elliot, John and Fin all worked the earlier case involving B.J. and Carolyn Spencer. Joe, Olivia and Casey bring the others up to speed that Carolyn is being held without bail for the attempted murder of B.J. and that Carolyn was to be arrested again, this time for the murder of Shannon King. At the same time, it was decided since Joe and Olivia are the ones who caught the B.J. case initially as well as the murder of Shannon King, it was decided Olivia would work with Joe temporarily since Joe is still without his normal partner, Ed Green, while Elliot, Munch and Fin would also help if it was needed. Since there was nothing new for now, Joe and Olivia would head home to get some rest since it appeared that both cases were wrapped up, as would the others since it was a Saturday and not their normal shift.

That would last about 12 hours, when around 10:00 PM it would be reported that during dinner, Carolyn was murdered at Rikers by a bunch of women who were fans of "The B.J. Show" that felt she deserved her fate. Two of them would immediately plead guilty to that murder (but would not be arraigned until Monday), saying to Casey when she went to Rikers along with Joe and Olivia that Carolyn deserved to be killed for her earlier attempt on B.J.'s life and for basically forcing B.J. to sattellite. Joe and Olivia then find out that a trench coat was found on 11th avenue around 57th street having fallen out of a garbage can, and it had blood on it that matched that found on the shoes whoever did this was wearing. In addition, a knife that appeared to be the murder weapon in both cases was found about a block north in a trash bin.

The most startling discovery happened a short time later when forensic officers at their lab told Joe and Olivia that it was NOT Carolyn who killed Shannon King nor attempted to kill B.J. Cameron.

"Are you sure? Every one of our witnesses gives a description that fits Ms. Spencer", said Joe to the Forensic detective.

"I'm positive it wasn't her. The DNA found on Shannon King's fingernails was that of someone else and not Ms. Spencer. She did wind up scratching whoever did this pretty good. She also when she was stabbed appeared to grab hair that was much darker than Ms. Spencer's", said the forensic offer, adding, "I can also tell you the knife had been used on Ms. King first, as there was blood from both Mr. Cameron and Ms. King on the knife, but no blood from Mr. Cameron on Ms. King's body."

"Interesting", then said Joe, then receiving a call that further up on West End Avenue, a wig of reddish-brown hair was found that matched that of Carolyn Spencer, that confirmed Carolyn didn't commit the murders.

(continued in Part Three)


	3. The suspect is a lady

Title: JACKed Up! (Part 3 of 6)  
Author: Walt

Rating: T

Disclaimers: See Part 1

The question for Joe and Olivia was who would then kill Shannon, attempt to kill B.J. and try to frame Carolyn for both. Joe and Olivia would get stuck for a while and take a break, only to get called when another man is found dead early that Sunday morning on the boardwalk next to the East River around the entrance to such at 78th street and The FDR Drive, with his being stabbed four times in the back along with his being kicked in the head twice and twice more in the stomach.

"Quinn Robbins", said Joe to Olivia, with the Detectives also finding a note that said "You've been JACKed up!"

"How are these two related, if they are at all?", asked Olivia, puzzled as to why he and Shannon King would get that note, with Joe realizing how before replying to Olivia, "He was one of the 'suits' of the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM, and if I'm right was one of those who ordered the change on Tuesday night to the Jack format that's called Craig."

A trip to the morgue saw Quinn's widow Willow with Joe and Olivia, with Joe informing Willow about the note found.

"I can't believe someone would actually go as far as to kill him. He was simply following orders from those above him", said Willow to the Detectives.

"I hear you. I understand the oldies station in Chicago where I'm from also flipped at the same time, and I had quite a few relatives call me when that happened, and they were quite upset", said Joe to Willow.

"I'm sure they were, and it's probably not even close to what it is here", replied Willow, who after taking a deep breath continued, "Anyway, he was going for his normal run near the boardwalk, and I happened to be up to see him off around 5:00 this morning."

"Awfully early for a Sunday", then said Joe.

"It is early, but he liked to do it then when possible, then if he had to be up well into the night take a nap later in the day if possible or necessary", replied Willow, who again paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "We were equally shocked when we found out Shannon King had been killed, as I know some people think in some way she is responsible for what happened because of B.J. leaving after next year."

"How does B.J. fit into all of this", then asked Olivia, with Willow replying "Quinn warned me when the flip happened on Tuesday. They actually wanted to flip the station B.J. does his show on to the JACK format, however, B.J. specifically has it in his contract that he can block a format flip if he wants to, and he made it clear that if they put the JACK format there, he would leave and his satellite deal would kick in immediately. He feels the company betrayed him when the FCC started investigating the company over what happened with Shannon King and the championship game a year ago on TV, and B.J. made it clear he was going to 'send a message' to get even with some people."

"Then why not let B.J. leave if that was that big an issue. I understand outside his show the ratings were not very good", then said Joe.

"They weren't, but it didn't matter. Even if the flip had been successful on B.J.'s station, if B.J. left before his contract was up, they would lose over a year of revenue from his show, and that would severely hurt the bottom line", then said Willow before pausing again and continuing, "The reason they flipped (place call letters here)-FM as fast as they did was because late Tuesday morning, two hedge fund operators who funds are major shareholders in the company told the Chairman they had heard rumors that a competitor was going to flip to JACK on Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM. They basically told him they had until 3:45 PM to flip one of their stations to JACK on Tuesday, or they were going to dump all of their stock in the company at the close of business that day."

"How big a share are you talking about?", asked Olivia.

"Enough to where if they dumped the shares, it would have caused a huge drop in the stock price, causing other shareholders to dump their stock in a massive panic", said Willow.

"Oh?", said Olivia.

"Yes. Basically, a couple of hedge funds are the top shareholders of the company, and then several retirement funds have major shares. They also would have sold off very quickly if the hedge funds did", then said Willow.

"And you know all this because?", asked Joe.

"The accounting firm I work for has the parent company as its top client. Quinn and I met when he came over three years ago on some business matters. One thing led to another and we got married just over a year later. We were going to celebrate our second anniversary in a couple of weeks", then said Willow, unable to hold back tears at the end.

"I'm so sorry for your loss", then said Olivia.

"Thank you", replied Willow, who then paused for a moment before continuing, "This has been such a tragic time the last week."

"What do you mean?", asked Joe.

"Ken Jones died on Wednesday, not even 24 hours after the format flip", then said Willow.

"I forgot about that. He was with (place call letters here)-FM since the station first went oldies years ago", then said Joe.

"37 years overall, including all 35 as an oldies station. He actually joined the station shortly after his daughter Savannah was born", then said Willow, who again paused before continuing, "He and Rick Johnston had been there during the entire time the station had been oldies, as Rick joined about three months before the station went to oldies."

"That's amazing. Two people at the same station for 35 years like that", then said Olivia.

"Yes", then said Willow, who then added, "I'm sure the fact Ken having lost his wife five months ago followed by this and on top of it B.J. going on Wednesday morning after the flip happened and the oldies jocks were fired as they were about how happy he was about that had to have killed him."

"B.J. was happy that the oldies station flipped?", then asked Olivia, with Willow replying, "You better believe it. B.J. not only blocked the flip to JACK on 'his' station, but he was gloating about it Wednesday morning, saying basically how 'those old farts got what they deserve', to put it mildly, though it was much worse. He really hates the management of the parent company, and many of his listeners who have no idea of how much the oldies station meant to so many people were happy with him."

"Then how come Quinn was looked at as the 'bad guy'" by a lot of people on this?", then asked Olivia.

"Quinn was simply the General Manager of the station, and was following orders from up above and basically from the hedge fund operators who threatened to dump their stock. The people who ordered this are not from New York as I am and have no idea about the history of the station, but at the same time, I also know this was a matter of survival. The company had would have had to do something anyway at some point to show the radio end would be able to survive the loss of B.J. after next August."

"Understandable", then said Joe, who then asked if she knew of anyone who had a grudge against Quinn.

"Right now, probably the many fans of the oldies station who have been posting constant messages about the flip on a special section of a message board a lot of radio professionals and enthusiasts post at", then said Willow, adding, "I seriously doubt any of them would have a big enough grudge to kill him. I definitely could understand someone trying to kill B.J., however, even before Ken Jones died for the way B.J. blocked the format change on his station and essentially forced his and the firings of everyone else at (place call letters here)-FM."

"Anyone else?", asked Olivia.

"I doubt it. It's been a mind-numbing week between the format flip, Ken Jones' death and now this", then said Willow, with Joe and Olivia done with her at that point as Willow was about to completely break down, thankful she held it together as long as she did.

After that, M.E. Rogers comes out and asks for Joe and Olivia to come in.

"The stab wounds didn't come from a knife. It appears whoever did this was wearing stiletto heels and used them as a weapon", said Rogers to Joe and Olivia.

"Like in the Quinones murder last year?", then said Joe.

"Yes. What I suspect happened was whoever did this knew this was your victim's normal route when he was running, and was able to first trip him up and then jump on his back, driving the heels into his back deep enough to kill him and doing so without falling and being injured. I'm surprised no one saw what happened", said Rogers to Joe and Olivia.

"With where it happened, anyone on the FDR Drive would probably have missed seeing it", replied Joe.

With forensic officers still going over the crime scene and no witnesses coming forward at that point, Joe and Olivia talk to Warren Altman, Chairman of the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM at his home, a huge penthouse apartment on Central Park West that runs from 71st-72nd street.

"How awful a week, and to think we are looking more and more like the bad guys in all of this", said Warren to Joe and Olivia upon being told by the Detectives of what happened to Quinn Robbins.

"As in flipping the (place call letters here)-FM to what you're calling the Craig format?", asked Joe.

"Yes, but as I'm sure you know by now, we didn't want to do it there. We wanted to do it on B.J.'s station, but he was able to block us by threatening to leave, which was his right through his contract. We could not wait on flipping one of other stations because of the hedge fund operators who have major chunks of stock threatening to sell unless we flipped one immediately as we did", then said Warren.

"You had one other station you could have flipped, why didn't you do it there?", asked Joe.

Warren then responded by saying, "Simply because that other station while the ratings were much lower than (place call letters here)-FM reaches a lot of women 18-40, who are very popular with advertisers and much more than on an oldies station that mainly reaches people over 45 these days. Billing is much more important in a lot of ways than ratings these days, and we would have had a lot of ad buyers angry with us if we flipped that station, not to mention those listeners, albeit of course not anything like what we are dealing with because we flipped (place call letters here)-FM. Being unable to flip B.J.'s station because he would have left immediately, we had no choice but to flip (place call letters here)-FM. I tried to explain to Savannah Jones after her father Ken died on Wednesday afternoon, but she was so furious that myself and the rest of the management were personna non grata at her father's funeral yesterday since she thinks the stress of his being fired like that along with B.J.'s remarks the morning after killed him."

"Couldn't you have done it differently?", asked Olivia.

Warren then said, "Actually, we couldn't. The hedge fund operators who own major stock in the company wanted the flip done immediately, and were prepared to dump all their stock if it didn't happen before the market closed on Tuesday. That would have been a financial disaster for us, as there would have been a mass sell-off in extended trading that night and again the next morning. If that happened, it would have severely hampered us in many ways, including on the TV side. We really didn't have a choice."

"What about B.J.? Did you talk to him after Mr. Jones died?", then asked Joe.

Warren then said, "We tried to, but he doesn't trust us at all. He blames us for 'having' to go to sattelite because we wouldn't bend over backwards for him when fines started rolling in for old obscenities after Shannon King did her little act a year and a half ago. Frankly, if he weren't such a 'cash cow' for the company for as long as he has been, he would have been fired long before now, and especially after Ken Jones died."

With that, Joe and Olivia were finished with Warren, getting notice at that point that forensic officers found several strands of much darker hair that appeared to also be a bit wavy at the scene of the murder of Quinn Robbins. They also find a trail of red that had suggested what M.E. Rogers had said about it most likely being a pair of heels, with the blood becoming less and less as the trail suggested whoever did this went north as the trail ended around 79th street or so.

"Look for a pair of heels discarded somewhere", said Joe to the forensic officers over the phone while he and Olivia head back to the crime scene. Once there, they headed north until reaching a set of steps that led to an exit around 81st street and East End Avenue that was very steep, since at that point the boardwalk goes above the FDR Drive.

"Geez, I had forgotten about these steps. No way anyone could have gotten up all of these in heels very easily, especially if whoever did this was running", said Olivia to Joe as they walked up the steps.

"Looks obvious, but you know this because?", then asked Joe.

"While in college I had a boyfriend who used to live on 83rd and East End. We'd come this way sometimes, and while it was very nice, the steps were murder on my feet if I had heels on. Thankfully that wasn't often", then said Olivia to Joe.

"You're not kidding on these steps, and I'm in good shape", replied Joe.

No evidence is found on the steps or on the boardwalk, but as they walk across the boardwalk, people walking their dogs do note having seen a woman with dark, shoulder-length hair running north on the boardwalk, having come from the steps.

"I was jogging like I often do early in the morning, and she ran right past me, like someone had just tried to rape her or something, and I didn't want to touch her as she looked like she'd freak out at any moment. She also was staggering in a pair of boots with very high heels. She couldn't be from around here as no woman usually ever goes up or down the steps in what she was wearing", said a witness who identified herself as Karen Evans.

"Anything else you can tell us Ms. Evans?", then asked Joe.

"She was wearing a black shirtdress that had a very short skirt. Looked like the kind I used to wear as a teenager about 15 years ago", then said Karen.

The detectives thanked Karen, with other witnesses basically confirming what they saw, with Joe and Olivia then getting word of someone matching the description of the woman lying on a bench in a part of Carl Schultz Park that is only accessable by going through a tunnel under a bridge, about a block south of Gracie Mansion on 87th street. There they find the woman asleep with her hair a mess, wearing the dress and mentioned with a pair of black, stiletto heeled boots that appeared to have been partially kicked off in her sleep.

"Rise and shine", said Joe to the woman with Olivia also there.

"Huh? I was just looking at what used to the hospital I was born in. It was torn down a couple of months ago", said the woman (referring to what in real life had been Doctors Hospital on East End Avenue, running from 87th-88th streets which later would be Beth Isreal North before closing with the building demolished in the spring of 2005), then putting her hands over her eyes as it was a bright, sunny Sunday morning while the boots she was wearing came off completly, her still in a bit of a daze.

"Who are you?", then asked Joe.

"Savannah Jones", then said she.

"Will you please stand up? You are under arrest for the murder of Quinn Robbins", then said Joe as he read Savannah her rights while she was still in a bit of a daze at first before realizing what happened.

"What?" was Savannah's recation once she realized she was being arrested, staying silent otherwise while being transported to the 2-7. While getting her into the squad car, Joe and Olivia notice scratches on Savannah's neck.

(continued in Part Four)


	4. Savannah Jones' personal hell

Title: JACKed Up! (Part 4 of 6)  
Author: Walt

Rating: T

Disclaimers: See Part 1

"My client has been through all kinds of hell. You know both her parents died within five months of each other", said Janine Grossman to Alexandra Borgia as Janine arrived at the 2-7 with a pair of flats for Savannah to wear (similar to the athletic-ish slip-ons both Janine and Alexandra were wearing with in both cases a clean t-shirt and knee-length denim skirt since it was a Sunday) since the boots Savannah was wearing were seized for evidence, with her hair now up as she waited for the attorneys to come into the room.

"I didn't know that, but why should I?", asked Alexandra.

"Her father is Ken Jones, the midday guy on (place call letters here)-FM, or at least he was until the station flipped to what they are calling the 'Craig' format last Tuesday", then said Janine.

"I know all about the format flip, as I have a lot of friends who were angered by it, but what does that mean to this case?", asked Alexandra, with Janine replying, "He died Wednesday morning, about 18 hours after the flip happened. It was right after B.J. Cameron went off near the end of his show that morning about how great it was that 'such a fogey station like (place call letters here)-FM was shown the door and given the 'Jack-a' format.', boasting about how he 'forced out all the old bags from that station who should have been fired years ago' as he blocked the flip on his station because he could. Savannah and her father was walking by a place that morning that had the show on and they heard it. She then saw the rage her father was having over hearing what B.J. said, which caused him to have a coronary that killed him within a couple of minutes. She called me right after that, very distraught as you can imagine."

"I can believe that", then said Alexandra who then called Jack McCoy, asking him to come down as she felt it was necessary in this case, while Anita walks over to inform the attorneys that there also was now evidence that DNA found on Shannon King's fingernails was in fact that of Savannah and that blood on the boots matched that of Quinn Robbins. Janine then walks in to see her client while Alexandra waits for Jack to arrive while Savannah and Janine are now informed she is also being charged with the murder of Shannon King and the attempted murder of B.J. Cameron.

"That also means we can charge you with criminally negligent homicide in the death of Carolyn Spencer, since you made yourself look like her with the intent to frame her for both the murder of Shannon King and the attempted murder of B.J. Cameron. The knife used in both crimes had their blood on it", then said Joe, with Savannah and Janine remaining silent.

"So you want to keep quiet. You're going to have to awnser eventually", then said Olivia.

"My client will say nothing right now. She had been through so much in the past week, she needs to sort through it all in her head", then said Janine to the Detectives and Anita, who was also in the room.

Things would not change much when Jack arrives, with Alexandra bringing him up to speed before he goes into the room.

"You'll hear our side after arraignment. In the meantime, you can see all the outrage over what happened on a special page of a message board devoted to radio in New York", then said Janine to Jack while handing both a piece of paper with the address of the message board in question. While Savannah was taken to the holding cell, additional charges criminaly negligent homicide in the death of Carolyn Spencer were added to the indictment.

In the time between Savannah being held for arraignment and that happening, Alexandra goes to the hospital to talk with B.J. Cameron, who was now well enough to do so.

"So it wasn't Carolyn Spencer who tried to kill me. That woman who did sure did fool me and from what I hear everybody else", said B.J. to Alexandra, with her replying, "News does travel fast. It certainlly looks that way", and B.J. replying back, "It does."

"My understanding is that you blocked the flip on your station. Why was that?", asked Alexandra.

"Again, business. My contract specifically says I can do that. Since I was screwed by the parent company of my station, I figured I'd give them and many who were so outraged by what Shannon King did that in effect set in motion my having to move to sattellite a taste of their own medicine", then said B.J.

"And blocking your station being flipped was in your mind a way of 'getting back?'", asked Alexandra.

"Exactly. I knew the parent company's management was in a position where they had to flip either my station or (place call letters here)-FM by the close of business last Tuesday or two big shareholders were going to dump their stock. The other FM station they have is aimed at young women and there was no way that was going to be flipped, so I knew they would have to flip the oldies station in order to satisfy the hedge fund operators that had big enough shares that if they dumped them, it would create a massively vicious cycle of selling", then said B.J.

"You know that Ken Jones apparently was listening to you Wednesday morning right before he died", then said Alexandra to B.J.

"I heard about his death later in the day. I did say the next morning I was sorry that he died, and it was right after listening to me. He should have realized that a lot of it was business, however, as I called (place call letters here)-FM the "fogey station" for years. I was not really a fan of that style of radio to begin with, and many of my listeners are 'anti-establishment', which in their eyes is what (place call letters here)-FM was. Aside from my hatred for the parent company, if my station had flipped, it would tee off many listeners I have outside New York as most of the stations that carry my show are hard rock like mine is. Plus, a lot of bands that come on my show would stop doing so.", then said B.J.

"But the other reasons were secondary to your wanting to get back at the parent company?", asked Alexandra.

"To a big degree. Of course in retrospect, I'd probably have been a little less vocal about what happened, but I had no way of knowing Ken Jones would die not even a day after the format flip", then said B.J., with Alexandra finished with him and going home for the day.

At arraignment first thing Monday morning, a not-so-big surprise came to Alexandra as Jack was watching carefully.

"My client pleads not guilty by reason of extreme emotional distress", said Janine to Arraignment Judge Morris Tedelsky.

"The defendant brutally murdered two people, attempted to kill another and in two cases making herself look like Carolyn Spencer, which caused Ms. Spencer to be arrested two days ago and subsequently was brutally murdered while in custody", said Alexandra to the Judge.

"My client has had to deal with the death of her father that was mainly caused at the hands of the so-called 'victims' of these crimes", then said Janine to the Judge, who denies bail but does order a psychiatric exam.

"So a radio station's format change caused three deaths and the attempted murder of a fourth", said Arthur to Jack, Alexandra and Casey in his office, with Casey being there since she got the call on Carolyn Spencer late Friday night that triggered eveything.

"It seems that way. It also appears Savannah Jones fooled everone in looking like Carolyn Spencer to the point everyone thought it was Ms. Spencer who tried to kill B.J. for the second time, only to find out otherwise after she was killed", then said Casey to Arthur.

"I see. Given what the witnesses said, you did exactly what you were supposed to Casey. There's no way you nor Detectives Benson or Fontana could have known it was an impostor with all the evidence pointing to Carolyn Spencer at the time", then replied Arthur.

"Thank you", then replied Casey before she left to return to work on other cases, still a bit shaken over what happened on Saturday, though realizing Arthur was right in that she could not have known what happened at the time Carolyn was arrested.

Once Casey was gone, Jack would say to Arthur, "I know Savannah Jones just lost her father and also five months ago her mother and was angry at the victims because she blamed them for what happened, but that doesn't give her the right to kill them and cause the death of Carolyn Spencer", said Jack.

"I know, and it's ironic that the name of the format outside New York (place call letters here)-FM switched to carries your name", then said Arthur.

"I know that, and I also know a ton of people who are angry. Lexi showed me how much of an outrage there really is on that message board for New York Radio, currently around 75 pages", then said Jack.

"Try closer to 80 pages now, and there are a lot of people who think Ms. Jones should go free because of what B.J. said apparently killing her father. Others think B.J. should stand trial for murdering Ken Jones", then said Alexandra.

"And I wish there were a way I could charge B.J. Cameron with criminally negligent homicide for causing Ken Jones' death with both blocking the flip of his station and what he said, but he could not have known what would happen when he commited those actions. The law says Savannah Jones has to be prosecuted because she tried to kill B.J. Cameron, caused the death of Carolyn Spencer and did kill Shannon King and Quinn Robbins", then said Jack.

At the same time that conversation was going on, Savannah would be talking at Rikers with Elizabeth Olivet.

"It's been a mind-numbing week. My father was just getting over losing my mother only five months ago, and was finally starting to again be the man on radio that made him very popular for years. My parents were married for 40 years, which at least they got to celebrate last fall before she died", said Savannah to Elizabeth.

"I can understand that. It had to be tough on your father losing your mother like that", then said Elizabeth.

"It was, but he had many friends who were able to help him cope with that, as my friends helped me. The radio really helped as well, as he got an unbelivable amount of cards, letters and E-mail wishes pouring out support when he really needed it. Then came last Tuesday.", then said Savannah.

"When the flip happened", replied Elizabeth.

"Exactly. Everyone was stunned at what happened, and almost immediately afterwards there was massive outrage. You know there is supposed to be a protest over what happened in about a week", then said Savannah.

"I didn't hear about the protest, but I'm not surprised. The way this was done seemed very cold", replied Elizabeth.

"It was. My father was taking it very hard to have lost his job the way he did on top of losing my mother only five months ago. Sure, they tried to apologize, but they explained they had to do this under the threat of two major shareholders dumping their shares of the parent company at the close of business on Tuesday if they didn't", then said Savannah before continuing in a tone that got much more angry, "Those greedy bastards are not New Yorkers, and were more concerned with their money more than they were with people. They along with B.J. Cameron should be standing trial for murdering my father, and Shannon King and Quinn Robbins deserved their fates as they basically put a knife in my father's back! What B.J. said on the radio is what actually killed him!", crying at the end.

The rest of the conversation went along those lines.

While that was going on, Alexandra talked with a close friend of Savannah's, Joanne Miller, at her office in lower Manhattan whose company is a competitor of the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM.

"Savannah had a very hard time with her mother's death. She was very close to both of her parents, and actually saw a therapist for a brief period after her mother died. Although there was nothing publically that would indicate the change in formats at (place call letters here)-FM was coming, she had a bad feeling things were going to happen after the crackdown started following Shannon King's dress coming off", said Joanne to Alexandra.

"And how was that?", asked Alexandra.

"The way radio is now", replied Joanne.

"And that is?", asked Alexandra, with Joanne replying, "The way companies can now own several radio and even TV stations in each market. In this case (the parent company) owned three stations on FM, (place call letters here)-FM, the station B.J. is on and another aimed at young females. That was not the case 15-20 years ago, when you could only own one AM, FM and TV station in a market. The parent company of (place call letters here)-FM still carries a heavy debt load from its merger a few years ago, and while they have been able to reduce that some, they knew they were up against it with B.J. leaving next August."

"I would expect they'd have to do something with B.J. leaving, but what does that have to do with why now, even though they had over a year to figure out what to do?", then asked Alexandra.

Joanne then replied, "Everyone knew how the JACK format had been working in smaller markets, and it was felt it was only a matter if time before some station in New York would flip to it. There was a rumor floating around Tuesday morning that the parent company of another competitor of ours was fully prepared to flip one of its stations to the JACK format as early as 6:00 AM Wednesday morning, which was supposedly the absolute earliest they could have everything in place to do so. That's when I suspect the hedge fund operators who control enough of an interest in the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM to create a mass panic if they did dump their stock went and told the higher-ups they would sell all of it immediately unless they flipped one of their stations by the close of business last Tuesday. Obviously as you know by now, there was no way B.J. was going to allow 'his' station to be flipped, so they had no choice."

"And?", then asked Alexandra, with Joanne responding, "Ken and everyone else were absolutely devastated by what happened, and especally in the fact they were not at least given time to do a farewell show to their listeners. I was with Ken and Savannah that night, and Savannah was very worried this was going to kill her father, especially given Ken only lost his wife and Savannah's mother five months ago, with that turning out to be true not even 12 hours later. I can only imagine how Ken felt upon hearing B.J. specifically say he was responsible for Ken and everyone else being fired right before he died."

"And did you see Savannah after that?", asked Alexandra.

Joanne replied, "Not very long after. She was completely devastated about losing her father, and could not believe what happened. She called Janine very shortly after that, asking her to look for any way possible that the parent company and the people who forced the switch could be held criminally liable for her father's death. When it was found there were no legal grounds, she was even more distraught. I suspect she simply snapped after the viewing Friday night and felt the only way she could get justice for what happened was to go after the people she felt were responsible for Ken's death, and those in particular were Shannon King, B.J. Cameron, Carolyn Spencer and Quinn Robbins: Shannon because her losing her dress at the championship game a year and a half ago caused the crackdown that with Carolyn Spencer's help later on 'forced" B.J. to go to sattellite when his contract expires and caused the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM to flip that to JACK to appease investors that Quinn Robbins implemented on orders from above, and then B.J. Cameron for his blocking the flip on his station. How she ever held it together for the funeral of her father on Saturday is amazing given everything that happened."

With that, Alexandra was finished with Joanne, and along with Elizabeth is in Jack's office along with Arthur, with Jack and Arthur brought up to speed:

"It's clearly obvious her father's death and the way it happened caused Savannah Jones to snap. She felt the people who were killed along with B.J. and the hedge fund investors killed her father, and those not dead should be standing trial for his being murdered", said Elizabeth.

"That's what I got as well talking to one of her best friends. Our defendant took her father's death incredibly hard and likely was suffering from extreme emotional distress", said Alexandra.

"Not what I wanted to hear. I've got people all over the place wanting Ms. Jones executed for this, and B.J. Cameron specifically wants her tried for trying to kill him.", said Arthur.

Jack replied by saying, "And I'm sure there are as many who feel she shouldn't be prosecuted, Arthur. I've been on that special message board put up for the format switch, and there it's running something like 30-1 that Ms. Jones should have all charges against her dropped. As for B.J. Cameron, he's right in wanting Ms. Jones tried since she did try to kill him, not to mention the fact she tried to frame Carolyn Spencer which in turn caused her death, but if I'm B.J. I don't know if I want to say that in public given his blocking the flip on his station may have been the direct cause of everything Ms. Jones did."

"Sounds like there's going to be blood on some hands no matter what direction this goes in. We have to follow the law, however, and since the evidence says Savannah Jones murdered Shannon King and Quinn Robbins, attempted to murder B.J. Cameron and attempted to frame Carolyn Spencer for two of those, which caused Ms. Spencer's death while she was in custody, Ms. Jones has to be tried, unless you can make a deal", then said Arthur.

At the same time, Janine walks in with Mary Conway Clark, having overheard Arthur talking about a deal.

"I seriously doubt my client is going to want to make a deal. She still believes those people along with the hedge fund operators who basically forced the flip killed her father, and those not already dead should stand trial for at least negligent homicide in such. Oh, Mr. McCoy, I think you and Mary know each other", said Janine as Arthur and Elizabeth walked out of Jack's office.

"We do. What are you doing here, Mary?", asked Jack while shaking her hand.

"Savannah's mother and I were friends since we were teenagers, and I knew her father going back to before they married and Savannah was born. I would have been here with Janine to represent Savannah at arraignment, except I was in Boston dealing with matters on another case, which got postponed indefinitely", said Mary.

"You're taking over the case?", asked Jack.

"Not quite, however, Janine knows I was friends of Savannah's parents for many years, and they would want me to represent Savannah at trial, though since Janine and Savannah have been friends for a long time, we decided along with Savannah it was best if we both represented her", replied Mary.

"That's agreeable with me, especially since all we care about is justice. Here's our notice of Mary's appearence", then said Janine.

"Obviously no egos here", said Jack.

"Definitely none", then said Janine as she and Mary left.

"This is going to make it next-to-impossible to get a conviction", said Alexandra shortly after Janine and Mary had left.

"You mean because Mary is now working with Janine on the case?", replied Jack.

"No, because a jury is likely to sympathize with Ms. Jones, especially since as you said it's quite possible B.J. Cameron's blocking his station from being flipped may have been responsible for what happened", then said Alexandra.

"But B.J. Cameron could not have known that was going to happen at the time he did that. Neither could the hedge fund operators nor anyone else", then said Jack.

Alexandra replied, "I know that. I also know that we are going to have to somehow convince a jury that there was no way B.J. Cameron nor the hedge fund operators nor anyone else who were involved with what happened to (place call letters here)-FM could have known Ken Jones would have died not even 24 hours after the station suddenly changed formats."

"I know, and if it's OK with you and Arthur, I would like to have Casey sit in as a third chair and question B.J. on the stand since she has greater familiarity with him", said Jack.

"I don't know if she would. Remember, Casey clerked under Ms. Clark when she was a Judge", said Alexandra as Casey happened to be walking by, overhearing that before walking in to Jack's office.

"I'm game if it's needed. Mary would expect me to do it if she was the DA, and she wouldn't expect me to do anything different just because she is the defense council on this case", said Casey.

"Actually, co-defense coucil with Janine Grossman", said Jack.

"Makes sense. I do know Mary was friends with Ken Jones and his wife for years, and Janine and Savannah are longtime friends. This is going to be an extremely difficult case with those two on the other side", then said Casey.

A short while later, Arthur approved Jack's request that Casey be brought in as a rare "third chair" for this trial given her familiarity from the earlier case involving B.J. Cameron and Carolyn Spencer and knowing how that somewhat was related to this case. In addition, the Judge on this case (Joseph P. Terhune) had Casey as lead prosecutor several times in his courtroom, and Jack felt her being there would help a bit. It later was also decided due to the nature of this trial, that the jury would be sequestered throughout.

(continued in Part Five)


	5. The Trial, Part 1

Title: JACKed Up! (Part 5 of 6)  
Author: Walt

Rating: T

Disclaimers: See Part 1

The trial would begin with after opening arguments, Casey questioning B.J. Cameron (recovered enough by this point from his stab wound to be out of the hospital) describing what happened in the events leading up to the format flip and his eventually being stabbed.

"This whole nonsense actually started when Shannon King pulled her little stunt at the championship game a year and a half ago with her dress 'accidentally' coming off. I said then that she likely knew exactly what she was doing, and I was among the first to say there were going to be crackdowns on everything because of that", said B.J. with Casey playing a tape from his show that originally aired the day after the 2004 football championship game.

On the tape of his show, B.J. said, "You watch. All these religious zealots are going to come out of the woodwork and demand that myself and others be taken off the air, and every little thing that they think was wrong is going to be investigated. Shannon King is going to wind up being responsible for setting back freedom on the air 50 years with her little stunt!", with B.J. then saying on the stand, "That so far has been proven true to some degree. The parent company of my station was fined around $5 million for every little infraction it seemed I caused, some of which dated back almost 10 years. All of the fines came from complaints made as it has since turned out by a handful of religious groups hell-bent on getting myself and others like Howard Stern off the air entirely. All of the fines are under appeal, but that didn't seem good enough for some higher-ups at the parent company, especally after Carolyn Spencer pulled her little act last fall on me."

"And that act was?", asked Casey.

"Her shooting me outside the studio after my show. After that, the higher-ups at the parent company said I would either have to tone down my act, or on my next contract I'd have to sign a clause that said I would be responsible for any fines my station or any affiliates that carried my show would rack up. I told them they weren't doing enough to stand up for me, and they acted like wusses, fearful of others like Carolyn Spencer who wanted to be more known for 'bringing down people like me.' That's when I decided I was going to sattelite, as I would have lost half my audience otherwise.", said B.J.

"What does that have to do with what happened later on?", asked Casey.

"A lot. The company knew they would have to somehow replace the revenue my show generated. As much as they hate to admit it, they knew it was not going to be easy, and after the way they treated me, there was no way I was going to help them. If they did fire me, my sattellite contract kicks in immediately, and they can't do anything to keep me off the air aside from paying a massive penalty for invoking a 'no-compete' clause of around $75 million", then said B.J.

"And that's why you blocked the format flip to what is being called here the 'Craig' format, but everywhere else it's known as 'Jack?'", asked Casey.

"There were other reasons, actually. When the format started, some of the bands that appear on my show made it clear if my station ever flipped to that format, they would no longer appear on it until I moved to sattellite next fall. That would hurt me a lot outside New York in particular, especially since most of the stations my show is on lean towards heavy metal", said B.J.

"So that was why you blocked the attempt to change the format on your station?", asked Casey.

"Mainly, though like I said, there was no love lost, and being able to put them in a tizzy knowing they were under severe pressure to flip one of the stations, that made it sweeter. I also never thought of the guys on (place call letters here)-FM as great personalities. I'm sorry for what happened to Ken Jones, but he should have remembered I had called (place call letters here)-FM the 'fogey station' for years", then said B.J.

"What were doing where you were when you were stabbed?", asked Casey.

"I was on my way home, walking on West 4th as I live where it merges with 12th street near Hudson. This woman who looked like Carolyn Spencer with the wig came from out of nowhere and stabbed me, and I automatically assumed it was Ms. Spencer because she tried to kill me earlier. When I heard she was killed in prison later on, I was thinking at that point she got exactly what she deserved for trying to kill me twice, not knowing obviously that it wasn't her who tried until someone else was arrested for it.", then said B.J.

"I assume you're talking about Ms. Jones", then said Casey.

"Yes", replied B.J.

Casey then asked, "Did you have any reason to think up until Ms. Jones was arrested that it was anyone other than Carolyn Spencer that tried to kill you?"

B.J. then replied, "Not really, however, the day after Ken Jones died, Ms. Jones did come down to where my studios were, and after my show railed into me. I'm sorry her father died, but that doesn't give her, Carolyn Spencer or anyone else the right to try and kill me!"

"Thank you", then said Casey, then turning it over to the defense, with Janine handling cross.

"You just admitted in court you blocked the company from flipping your station to what is being called the "Craig" format here. Were you thinking of the potential consequences that would happen at that point?", asked Janine.

B.J. responded by saying, "That's how radio is today, sadly enough. It's all about corporate greed, especially when the parent company's biggest shareholders are two hedge fund operators who basically forced the flip, as they knew the higher-ups who run the company are a bunch of wusses. It was my right per my contract to threaten to leave immediately if they flipped."

"And you would have done that?", asked Janine.

"You bet I would have done that since my sattelite contract kicks in immedately if I leave because of that, unless the parent compant of my station paid the penalty my contract called for if they forced me to sit out until it expires. Do you really think when I did that I knew that Ken Jones was going to croak not even a day after his station flipped and he along with everyone else there were fired?", then said B.J.

"You know you not only angered Ken Jones and my client, but the rest of the air personalities at (place call letters here)-FM as well as the many loyal listeners of that station?", asked Janine.

"That's not my fault! I can't help the fact the higher-ups at the parent company are a bunch of wusses who are so scared of losing what they have that they would wind up screwing a lot of people. I'm sorry again that Ms. Jones lost her father, but how was I supposed to know that was going to happen?", then said B.J., his tone getting louder towards the end.

"You should have realized how many people were going to be angry about what happened.", then said Janine.

"I could not have, nor could anyone at the parent company have realistically sensed the level of anger at what happened when (place call letters here)-FM flipped! I know that station was beloved and was well known, but it clearly was not what I do! The people who listened to (place call letters here)-FM were not listeners of my station, and many people who work in advertising were more likely to listen to me or the way (place call letters here)-FM is now than when it was an oldies station", then said B.J.

With that, B.J. finally stepped down.

Up next were the couple of Rachel Ng and Gene Young (who found B.J. stabbed) in that order, with their recounting what they saw that night, including their noting neither saw who actually attempted to kill B.J., followed by forensic officers who found the wig that made Savannah look like Carolyn Spencer. Jack then put on witnesses who saw who they thought at the time was a red-headed woman running after both stabbings, in each case wearing a trench coat that was brought into evidence, as well as the clogs found at the site of Shannon King's stabbing. The two women who killed Carolyn Spencer in prison then took the stand, with their noting they killed Carolyn because at the time, they thought that she had again tried to kill B.J., "and needed to make sure that didn't happen again", as one of them put it.

Jack then put on the stand Sam Cullen, manager of one of the hedge funds that had a major share in the parent company of (place call letters here)-FM. Jack starts by asking what led to their demanding that one of the company's stations be flipped to what was being called the "Craig" format, but "Jack" elsewhere.

"We'd been going over the financial records of the company very carefully for the past several months, starting with when Carolyn Spencer shot B.J. Cameron last fall and his subsequently making the jump to sattelite as soon as his contract expires next August. The station B.J. is on was not doing that well outside of his show ratings-wise, and it appeared that station was going to really tank a little over a year from now when B.J. left. We had several times noted the company was a hold, but if they didn't do something soon we would have to go to a sell in spite of the fact their TV operations were solid, having overcome the fines they got for what happened with Shannon King's incident a year and a half ago. Their radio division was doing horribly as a whole outside of B.J., and we'd been monitoring the success they had in other markets flipping stations to the 'Jack' format", said Sam on the stand.

"And how successful were those stations?", asked Jack.

"Enough to where we felt if they they went to the format in New York, it would be a huge step forward, and like with the other stations, it would save them a lot of money", then said Sam.

"Did you actually threaten to sell your stock the day of the change in formats of (place call letters here)-FM, why did you do it and would you have actually gone through with the threat?", asked Jack.

"I did personally. We have a number of investors in our funds, and I had been under pressure to dump the company from a few of them as they felt the company was underperforming. One of them emphatically called me late that Monday night saying he heard a rumor a competing company was prepared to flip one of its stations to the "Jack" format that Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM. That investor was demanding we did something either way, so once I was able to confirm the rumor, I had to go to the Chairman and tell him my fund was going to dump all of the fund's shares if one of their stations failed to flip by 3:45 PM. We would have actually done dumped our shares since if we didn't and another station went through with the threat, we knew other investors would have put in sell orders the second the other station flipped", said Jack.

"And you had no way of knowing what was going to happen after that?", asked Jack.

"Of course not. I knew there was going to be some outrage when (place call letters here)-FM flipped, but in no way could we have anticipated the death of Ken Jones less that 24 hours after that happened nor the killings that followed", then said Sam.

With that, Jack was finished, with Mary handling cross on Sam. She would start by asking Sam, "What happened after the flip?"

Sam replied, "Nothing at first, but once B.J. went off about how he blocked the format flip at his station and specifically said our fund and another that held major stock in the company forced the flip, we had a number of fans of (place call letters here)-FM calling us in anger, and some fans of that station then coming to the lobby of the building we work out of and screaming how we were responsible for causing the death of what was New York radio as they knew it and later Ken Jones once it was known he died."

"When you heard that Ken Jones had in fact died, did you have any regrets?", asked Mary.

"We were sorry he died, but we could never have realistically anticipated what would happen next. The fact is, we had to look at it solely from a business standpoint, and I'm sorry if it sounds cold. We are in no way responsible for what happened after that", then said Sam.

"Maybe not legally, but you don't think morally you were reposible?", asked Mary with Jack objecting and Mary subsequently withdrawing the question and Sam then stepping down.

The manager of the other hedge fund that was a major shareholder in the parent company (Maurice Pillman) then took the stand, with that being a virtual repeat of what Sam had said on the stand.

Warren Altman next took the stand, and under Jack's questioning first confirmed what the hedge fund operators had said. Jack then asked how hard they tried to place the new format on B.J.'s station, with Warren responding, "We were actually planning on doing that in the near future, but knowing what B.J. thinks of us, we had to do it in a way he would not be offended, going over every legal avenue we had first. That all went out the window when Mr. Cullen and Mr. Pillman walked into my office that Tuesday morning, making it clear they fully intended to dump their shares of the stock unless we flipped one of our stations to the 'Jack' format by 3:45 that afternoon out of fear another station would beat us to it as was the case in Philly. We tried to implement it on B.J.'s station, but he made it clear he would leave immediately if he did, and we could not afford to lose a year of revenue from his show. We told Mr. Cullen and Mr. Pillman this, but they made it clear it had to be done that day, or they would dump their stock, leaving us no other options aside from flipping another station we own."

"And why not flip that station?", asked Jack.

"That other station appealed to women 18-40, which would have been financial suicide for us. Many ad agencies loved that station and spent much more money on that station before those listeners were younger and more desirable than either B.J.'s station or (place call letters here)-FM, even though the oldies format was still billing reasonably well", said Warren.

"And why weren't (place call letters here)-FM's listeners 'desirable?'", asked Jack.

"The fact many of the listeners have gotten older. While our oldies station was more a continuation of the traditions of Top-40 radio on AM in the '60s and '70s and one that played a lot of later hits, the station had the last few years become an increasingly harder sell with ad buyers, many of whom have an unhealthy obession with those under 40 in particular. It was a problem that only was going to get worse, though not right away. If the act Shannon King did at the championship game not happen a year and a half ago, perhaps we don't have to come down as hard as we did on B.J., with his likely not going to satellite radio even though personally I'm no fan of his. In turn, we likely are not having to have to worry about how we are going to replace the revenue lost from B.J.'s show and we likely would never have been under the pressure we were to flip (place call letters here)-FM as we did", then said Warren.

Jack responded by saying, "Very well. Did you anticipate there being anything close to the backlash that happened when you did flip (place call letters here)-FM?"

"We expected some, but not even close to what happened. Of course, the death of Ken Jones not even a day after the flip probably made the backlash harsher than it would have been otherwise. I know a lot of people were upset over what happened as (place call letters here)-FM was an institution, but we had no choice. We felt horrible when Ken died, but Savannah refused to understand what was going on. She made it clear she felt we killed her father, and there was nothing we could do to change her mind", then said Warren, with Jack finished with questioning.

Mary then handled cross-examination of Warren by first asking, "You said B.J. threatened to leave immediately if the Jack format had be placed on his station. I don't remember there ever being one person that wasn't the station owner who dictated what the format of a radio station was, so how did he get that control?"

"That occured when he signed his last deal nine years ago, three years before the outfit that owned his station merged with us. It was written in there after B.J. came very close to leaving 10 years ago after a shift from what had been a hard rock format to one that was more mainstream caused him to lose a lot of his ratings outside New York, and B.J. came very close to leaving at that time. The group that owned the station outright at that time had even less leverage than we have now with B.J., so they were forced to give in and give B.J. that kind of control. We were aware of that when we merged with them in 1999", said Warren.

"And it was ironclad?", then asked Mary.

"Not ironclad, but very close. Since B.J. has huge ratings, it would have been very difficult to replace that, even for just a year since he's leaving anyway next August for sattellite. That left us with little choice under the threats we had and the time we had to do it in", said Warren.

"You knew that Ken Jones had just lost his wife five months ago, and it was clear his being on the air was helping him in moving forward. You had to realize that firing him would have at least some negative effect", said Mary.

"We had no time to think of that, though again, we could not have realistically expected that Ken would die not even 24 hours later. I took his death very hard as did many others", then said Warren.

"Because you felt responsible for his death by what happened not even 24 hours before?", asked Mary.

"I'll put it this way: Ken was someone you wanted on radio, which should be obvious by the fact he was on the same station for 37 years. We didn't want to fire him or any of the other air personalities, as they were why the station still had good ratings. We had investors who were threatening to sell that day, and if we didn't, they were going to do it, and it would have triggered a massive sell-off to the point where it would have caused problems with us in the TV and cable ends of our company", said Warren.

"And how were those parts of the company performing?", asked Mary.

"Objection!", yelled Jack, with Judge Tehurne overuling.

"They were performing fine. The problem was, B.J.'s departure next August was creating problems for us on the radio end, and it got bad enough where investors were ready to dump stock without any regard to how the rest of the company was performing", then said Warren.

"You could have kept the air personalities on the new format", then said Mary.

"We could have, but we have also been under massive pressure to cut costs on the radio end from our shareholders. Even before this, many of them wanted us to fire a number of the legends because they were in their minds being paid too much", then said Warren.

"And those people had no appreciation of what a station like (place call letters here)-FM was like?", asked Mary.

"Most of the managers of these funds are from outside New York, and are also too young the know the histories of the stations (place call letters here)-FM continued its traditions from. All they cared about was their funds making money", said Warren.

"So basically, investor pressure led to what happened", then said Mary.

"Exactly. As much as we are all saddened by what happened to Ken Jones and everyone else who subsequently was killed, we are not responsible in any way for causing that", then said Warren.

"Though the fact is, Ken Jones, Shannon King, Quinn Robbins and Carolyn Spencer would all probably still be alive and B.J. Cameron would not have been stabbed if (place call letters here)-FM had not flipped from oldies", then said Mary.

"That sadly in this case is true", then said Warren, who then stepped down as Mary was finished with him.

At that point, Jack rested for the prosecution, and the defense called its first witness, Rick Johnston. Janine would handle the questioning, opening by saying to Rick, "You and Ken Jones were there from before the station first went oldies?"

"We were. Ken joined in February 1968, about five months after Savannah was born, and I joined just after Thanksgiving in 1969. It was March 2, 1970 when we went to what at that time was more of a '50s and doo-wop format, along with what were then more recent hits of the '60s", said Rick.

"So the station wasn't actually known as an 'oldies' station at the beginning?", asked Janine.

Rick replied by saying, "Correct. The 'oldies' label the station got would not come until around 1978 or so, once FM radio really began to that time take hold, and the station really became what it was during the '80s and '90s, equal to what was the case with the legendary AM stations before it. We were just fine until corporate mergers put people up above who were more concerned with making every last dime no matter what", said Rick.

"And how was that the case?", asked Janine.

"Starting with when the parent company went public not too long after the merger with what had been the company that owned B.J.'s station in 1999. While it did make the company a lot of money, it also put new pressures that previously had not been there, and especially on us because our listeners were getting older. We knew it would have to come to end eventually because the ratings would likely decline and the demographics were continuing to get older, but we also felt we would be given the chance to see this to a natural end, especially given how long we had been an oldies station and the fact the ratings and billing were when the flip happened still solid compared to other stations", said Rick.

"So you knew it eventually was going to have to come to an end", said Janine.

"We did, but we thought that would be 5-10 years from now, and by then Ken, myself and several of the others would be retired. We never in a million years thought it would end as it did because two hedge fund managers would basically come into the office of the Chairman of the parent company and threaten to sell all of their stock in the company unless a station flipped to another format that day", then said Rick.

"And this was I assume out of concern of what would happen when B.J. Cameron left his station after next year?", asked Janine.

"Yes. I knew they were going to have to do something to replace the income lost from B.J. leaving his station next summer, but none of us thought B.J. would go as far as he did to block the change to the 'Craig' format on his station, forcing them to flip our station and fire all of us", said Rick.

"You and Ken were at the station when the meeting was called that explained what happened?", said Janine.

"I was there, but only because I happen to live very close to the station and can get there walking in 10 minutes. The only other people there were Ken because he happened to have just finished his show and Tom Robinson, who had followed Ken in the afternoons for the last 23 years. We all knew something bad was going to happen, because this meeting only was announced a half-hour before it happened just after Ken finished his show, which would turn out to be the final show as an oldies station. We would find out that the station was flipping, and we were gone. We didn't find out the rest of what happened until later on", then said Rick.

"And how did Ken take it?", asked Janine.

"He was devastated. We didn't know at that point what really went on behind the scenes with first the hedge fund managers demanding an immediate flip out of fear another station was going to go to the JACK format the next day and then B.J. Cameron threatening to leave immediately if his station was flipped, so we all felt at that point it was a very cold thing given his wife had just died five months ago, and Ken was only now really starting to recover from that", said Rick.

"So what then happened?", asked Janine.

"Ken had remembered the vibes Savannah had when Shannon King committed her act a year and a half ago", then said Rick.

"At the football championship game?", then asked Janine.

Rick then said, "Yes. Savannah was convinced as soon as that happened there was going to be a 'moral crackdown', and that it eventually would lead to problems for B.J., which in turn would eventually lead to problems for us. She had a feeling they would either have to eventually fire B.J. or he would leave as soon as his contract expires because the so-called 'moralists' would be going after B.J., who did look like an easy target. Because everyone knew how much money B.J. rakes in for the parent company every year, Savannah was saying then how they would have to find ways to make up for money lost because of B.J. either being fired or leaving, and she turned out to be right."

"Did you talk to Savannah after the flip and you were all fired?", asked Janine.

"Later that night, I came by Ken's apartment, and she was there. Like all of us, Ken was floored at what happened, and Savannah was extremely worried this was going to kill him", then said Rick.

"And that would be the last time you saw him alive?", asked Janine.

"Yes, and I was afraid that would be the case when I got a call from my son to put on B.J.'s show the next morning. It was when B.J. was gleefully going off on how he 'brought down the so-called legendary piece of trash-FM' as he called it, saying it was his way of saying thanks to the parent company for being behind him when the station started dealing with heavier fines as a result of actions from as far back as 10 years earlier after Shannon King pulled her stunt. That included playing jingles he had made up to call the station 'Piece of Trash-FM' in fact", then said Rick, with Janine then playing defense exhibit 1, what B.J. actually said about the flip after it happened.

On the tape of the broadcast the morning after the flip, B.J. said, "I'm so happy this morning. I know a lot of people are angry that piece of trash-FM was flipped to what they're calling the 'Craig' format late yesterday, but many of them are old doofuses just like the losers who have been hanging on for years on that station, especially that old bag Ken Jones. They actually wanted to flip my station to the 'Craig' fornat, but I made it clear I would be gone at once if that happened, and the higher-up wusses caved into those hedge fund managers who stormed into their offices yesterday and made it clear they had to flip one of the stations by the afternoon yesterday or they would dump their stock. I was never going to allow my station to be flipped, and it gives me great pleasure to say that I brought down the so-called legendary piece of trash-FM for good! Those idiots never saw what happened yesterday coming, and it was great to see a fogey station like that go down in flames!"

"Did you try to contact Savannah and/or her father after it happened?", asked Janine.

"Of course, and when I could not get an awnser on Ken's cell phone and Savannah's was busy, I was sensing either or both of them heard it and something very wrong happened. It was not too long after that Savannah called me as she did everyone else to say that Ken got extremely angry when he heard it, and he died of a massive heart attack not even five minutes later", said Rick.

"And when you saw Savannah after that, how was she?", asked Janine.

Rick then said, "She was completely devastated. To lose both her parents in such a short time, and to have her father's death happen the way it did, not even 24 hours after what at the time appeared to be one of the coldest firings you can imagine only to find out after that it was caused by a series of events that included someone else gleefully saying he cost you your job, I'm not surprised that she would snap, especially being an only child and never having married. Many of us were amazed she was able to hold it together for Ken's funeral on Saturday."

"But you did try to help", said Janine.

"As did everyone else. Ken was one of my closest friends, and I've known Savannah since she was little. She always was a very bright girl who now is partners in a consulting firm that is doing extremely well. Savannah had already taken her mother's death hard and like Ken had only recently bounced back from it to where she was who we all remembered. When I saw her that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Ken died, she was crying constantly, and everyone else I spoke with said there was very little they could do for her to stop, and from what I was told only ate when she absolutely had to. Many of them were a lot more angry at the people who forced the flip of (place call letters here)-FM, and especially B.J. since they all felt he was responsible and wished that he could be charged with causing Ken's death", said Rick.

With that, Janine was finished, with Jack then saying to Rick on cross, "But you know of course that B.J. Cameron can't be legally charged with causing Ken Jones' death, as there was no way he could have known what was going to happen."

"With all due respect, that doesn't change the fact that Ken Jones would be dead less than 24 hours after the format change of (place call letters here)-FM that happened because B.J. blocked it on his station, and Ken died not even 10 minutes after B.J. made his remarks on the air!", then said Rick in a voice that became raised towards the end.

With that, Jack was finished, and court was adjurned for the day.

Outside the courthouse on the sidewalk of the Supreme Court Building at 60 Centre Street, B.J. was holding a press conference where he reminded people that a lot of what he did was business on his end, and again said he was sorry that Ken Jones died, but he was in no way responsible for what happened after that. As he began to walk away after the press conference, a woman came charging after B.J. with a baseball bat in her hand.

"You killed Shannon King and deserve to die!", yelled the woman as B.J. ducked out of the way. The woman's momentum caused her to run into Alexandra, who could not get out of the way with her legs going very hard into a concrete barrier put up on the curb after September 11th and the woman who did that also hitting the barrier hard. Jack and Casey ran over to see if Alexandra was all right.

"I think I'm OK", said Alexandra, first taking off her shoes before attempting to get up with Jack and Casey's help while Janine and Mary come running over, with Alexandra able to put weight on both of her legs, though grimiscing as she was in quite a bit of pain as she attempted to walk that off.

"Some nutcase woman tried to kill B.J. just now, yelling about how he killed Shannon King. He ducked, and she ran into Lexi, causing her to run into the barrier", said Casey, pointing to the woman (in her mid-20s with very long blonde hair) who was being handcuffed and taken into custody.

"Figures. I'm surprised B.J. hasn't gotten more threats from Shannon's fans", then said Mary.

Seeing Alexandra appearing to be OK enough to walk under her own power, after making sure that actually was the case, Mary and Janine leave while Jack and Casey walk with Alexandra back to the DA's Office to make sure. Arthur spoke with Jack, Casey and Alexandra in Jack's office once there.

"So, some nutcase who thinks B.J. Cameron was responsible for Shannon King's death tried to kill him with a baseball bat, only he ducked and the woman barrels into Alexandra?", asked Arthur.

"That is what happened. I couldn't get out of the way until it was too late, as I didn't see her try to kill B.J. I'm a little banged up, but nothing too serious thankfully", said Alexandra, who was lying on Jack's couch with ice packs on both of her knees.

"Amazing considering from what I heard you banged your knees into a concrete barrier", then said Arthur, pausing and then saying. "Good thing the jury's sequestered for this trial."

"Definitely", then said Jack, who then notes to Arthur everything that happened in court.

While Alexandra appeared to be fine, Arthur wanted either Jack or Casey to ride back to Brooklyn with Alexandra to make sure since the injury did occur when a woman who was trying to kill B.J. Cameron ran full steam into Alexandra. Casey had already insisted on doing so even before Arthur said it, concerned that Alexandra's knees might swell up based on her own experience with a similar injury while playing softball.

(continued in Part Six)


	6. The Trial, Part 2 and conclusion

Title: JACKed Up! (Part 6 of 6)  
Author: Walt

Rating: T

Disclaimers: See Part 1

There were concerns early the next morning when on his radio show B.J. went off on what had happened the day before after court ended, however, those were short-lived as he was simply stating he was not responsible for what happened to Shannon King nor anyone else other than his being stabbed. With that concern lifted, the trial resumed on time with Alexandra walking around without any serious sign of the injury from the day before, sitting with Jack and Casey.

The first witness called by the defense was Tom Robinson, who basically re-interates what Rick Johnston said the day before as would the rest of the air personalities who were on (place call letters here)-FM. They were followed by Joanne Miller, who then noted what she had previously said to Alexandra and also confirmed what the air personalities did, also noting how she stayed with Savannah the two nights after Ken had died and saw first-hand how hard Savannah had been taking her father's death. Elizabeth Olivet then followed, and she also basically repeated what she had told Jack about Savannah's state of mind when she interviewed her.

Finally, Savannah took the stand herself with Mary handling the questioning, first basically repeating what she had previously told Elizabeth about how mind numbing a week it had been before going into greater detail, saying, "Everyone who were friends of mine and my parents tried to help me get through a horrific time, but I just hurt so much. I did somehow manage to keep it together for a time, but in my mind at that point, there were people that needed to know they were responsible for what happened to my father."

"And they were?", asked Mary.

"First, Shannon King. As soon as she pulled her little act last year, I warned my parents that it could eventually cause problems for (place call letters here)-FM due to the fact the company that owns the station also owns the station B.J. does his show from.", said Savannah.

"And that was because?", asked Mary.

"The 'moralists' who came out of the woodwork after Ms. King's act. They went hard after B.J. as I told my parents they would, and the company was hit with massive fines for incidents that in some cases occured 10 years ago. One of those 'moralists' was Carolyn Spencer, who was more concerned of her own fame than real family values as was proven last fall. She and others caused B.J. to agree to move to sattellite once his current contract expires, which in turn caused the rest of the events that led to (place call letters here)-FM being flipped in the way it was, something B.J. was also responsible for since he made it clear he blocked the flip on his station", then said Savannah, who sniffed a few tears towards the end.

"And B.J.'s statement he blocked it on his station is what killed your father?", asked Mary.

"That is exactly what happened. We were walking along just outside where my father lives, and some radio near a construction site was blaring B.J.'s show. We heard the entire rant that was played as an exhibit earlier, and when my father heard B.J., he got very angry, which you could see in his face. I told him he needed to calm down, but he couldn't help himself, and then he had the coronary that killed him instantly!", then said Savannah was more tears running down her face as she said it, and the questioning briefly halted so Savannah could wipe the tears off her face.

Once Savannah was ready, Mary asked, "So your father died within minutes of hearing B.J. Cameron's remarks?".

"Yes. My father died right after hearing those remarks!", then said Savannah, again having tears come down her face and questioning briefly halted again, with in the meantime Mary introducing into evidence the official cause of Ken Jones' death being a heart attack.

Mary then asked once Savannah was ready "Was there anything before this that suspected your father could have died as quickly as he did after the firing?"

"The fact my father had a heart attack on the air 12 years ago. It fortunately was a very mild one and he recovered quickly from it, but his doctor warned him, and especially after my mother died that any stress like what happened after he was fired would likely kill him. As soon as I heard what happened, I was immediately very worried it would kill him, and the morning he died, I didn't want him going outside out of concern that he might hear something wrong, which of course turned out to be the case", then said Savannah, again wiping tears at that point but able to continue.

"And when did you think you had to go after everyone else?", asked Mary.

"Starting around when at the funeral home they put my father's body in the casket and everything was being arranged that Wednesday night, after I found out there was no legal way B.J. Cameron nor anyone else could be charged criminally or held liable otherwise. I knew Ms. King would often run through Riverside Park because it wasn't far from where she lived, and B.J. lived not too far from me and others I know. They in my opinion were the main culprits in what happened, and especially B.J. since he basically forced my father and everyone else out of (place call letters here)-FM by his blocking the flip to the 'Craig' format on his station. I felt at that point I had no choice but to make them realize they were at least partially responsible for the flip on (place call letters here)-FM and in turn, the death of my father", then said Savannah.

"And why did you look like Carolyn Spencer?", then asked Mary.

"Her 'morality' act that in reality is just a way for her to be in the spotlight heavily contributed to B.J. leaving for satellite after next year in the first place! That led to everything else, and perhaps she would put the dots together while she was behind bars. I could not have known two fans of B.J. would kill her not even 18 hours after she was arrested. This was all about the fact that my father was effectively murdered by these people and Quinn Robbins, who didn't have the balls to leave the company when the flip happened immediately!", then said Savannah, with tears again flowing from her eyes.

"Why should've he have to! He was just following orders!", yelled Quinn's widow Willow from the gallery as she stood up before sitting back down, very emotional herself.

"Order!" then yelled Judge Terhune, waring Willow that she would be ordered to be removed if there was another outburst from her, with the same warning going to everyone else.

Once order was restored, Savannah then continued with her response by saying with tears coming out of her eyes throughout and her voice becoming increasingly raised while doing so, "These people have no understanding of what made stations like (place call letters here)-FM what they were. They were so concerned about their own greed that they forgot that many people were hurt by what happened here, and the people killed were responsible for hurting them as well as killing my father!"

With that, Mary was finished, with Jack countering on cross. He would start that by saying, "I'm sorry you lost your father like you did Ms. Jones, however, that doesn't give you or anyone else the right to then kill two people, attempt to kill a third and cause the death of a fourth."

"You have no idea what my state of mind was then and still is now! I lost both my parents within five months of each other, and my father because of one of the coldest firings I have ever seen in my life! To have B.J. Cameron then gleefully boast he caused your father to be fired after 37 years on the same job, have my father hear it like he did and then die essentially immeduately after that along with the fact that B.J. and others basically stabbed my father in the back, what would you do!", then said Savannah in a voice that became increasingly raised as she said it, sobbing uncontrollably when she finished.

Jack then eased up on Savannah and let her step down.

In closing arguments that followed, Mary would again remind the jury everything that happened that led to the death of Ken Jones and in turn caused Savannah to snap, adding, "If I had lost my father the way our client lost her's, I don't know if I would have been able to hold it together either."

Jack then countered by reminding the jurors that while Savannah had gone through hell with everything that happened, she still was responsible for the deaths of Carolyn Spencer, Shannon King and Quinn Robbins and the attempted murder of B.J. Cameron, adding, "As much as I would love to put Mr. Cameron on trial for causing the death Ms. Jones' father, he was in no way responsible for the fact Ken Jones died when he did even though had he not blocked the flip at his station, we almost certainly would never have been here in the first place."

At that point, before going into deliberations the jurors were reminded by Judge Terhune that Savannah Jones was on trial for the murders of Shannon King and Quinn Robbins, criminally negligent homicide in the death of Carolyn Spencer and the attempted murder of B.J. Cameron, and that B.J. Cameron was NOT on trial. It didn't seem to matter, however, as Savannah was found not guilty on all counts in less than five hours, though the verdict would not be announced until the morning after it was reached given it was extremely late in the day when it was.

Savannah's head fell to the desk in tears of joy at hearing the verdict. Once composed and finishing hugging Mary and Janine, they walked out, with on the way while Savannah was getting hugs from all of the former air personalities of (place call letters here)-FM and their families as well as her own relatives, Mary stopping at the prosecutor's table, saying to Jack, "Did you really think, especially after Savannah cried as much as she did on the stand that the jury was going to find her guilty? They clearly felt that Savannah was suffering from the traumatic effect of her father's death and the way it happened."

"All I know is my job was to try the case at hand", Jack replied.

"Of course", then said Mary.

A short while later back in the DA's Office, Jack and Casey are with Arthur in his office.

"You all did your jobs. I knew this was going to be an extremely difficult case, but we had to go through with it", said Arthur.

"I know we did. We just couldn't overcome Ms. Jones becoming as emotional as she did on the stand", said Jack.

"That was obvious", said Arthur.

"I know I never saw anything like it. It didn't help matters that B.J. was still acting like it was his right to block the format flip of his station", said Casey.

"But you know he did", said Jack.

"You know how I meant that", then said Casey.

"Of course. B.J. should have realized what was going to happen. I said it myself, I wish I could prosecute him for killing Ken Jones, which he effectively did. At least Savannah also admitted to the press outside the courthouse she needs help and right after the verdict headed straight for a facility to help her deal with everything that happened in her life", then said Jack.

"Probably the safest place for her right now, given everything that happened", then said Casey as Alexandra knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Well, the first part of the fallout of this has come in. Willow Robbins has filed a lawsuit against one of the brokerage firms that are home to the hedge funds whose managers effectively forced the flip of (place call letters here)-FM. Apparently, her attorneys can prove that the actions by the hedge fund managers were not entirely because of investor concerns."

"And how could that be?", asked Arthur.

"Who knows?", then said Alexandra, who then says she needs to take the rest of the day to clear her head after the trial, with Jack and Arthur both saying that was a good idea.

The final scene takes place on a seasonable, mid-September Friday night that was the day the verdict was announced, with Alexandra sitting in nearly the same spot Savannah was when she was arrested (in Carl Schultz Park on a bench in an area under a bridge) when Janine comes walking by.

"What are you doing here Lexi?", asked Janine.

"Lets see. After the verdict and going over everything back at the office, I took the rest of the day as I was wiped out and went home, actually falling asleep for a couple of hours. Then I'm all restless, and for the last few hours, I was simply going around where the incidents happened, trying for myself to figure out what would drive someone to that level", then said Alexandra.

"You mean after Savannah lost her father?", asked Janine.

"Yes. I'm not nearly as close to my parents as Savannah was, and in fact, I haven't spoken to my parents since I graduated law school", said Alexandra.

"How is that?", asked Janine.

"My parents are not the kind of people I want to be around. They are very nutty in some ways, and I wound up working through college and law school to support myself and just to get away from them, very fortunate to have a room mate in college who helped me a lot as well", then said Alexandra.

"Oh, of course, you and Susie Chambliss have been best friends since she started law school", said Janine as Alexandra got up and both began walking up the steep set of steps.

"Yes, and you forgot she hates being called Susie. She's now second-in-command in the Homicide bureau behind Tracy Kibre, and I suspect she'll be bureau chief somewhere in the DA's Office in the not-too-distant-future. She helped me so much", then said Alexandra.

"I can imagine. Anyway, what brought you here?", asked Janine.

"I realized I was born in the same hospital as Savannah, though six years after she was", said Alexandra.

"The one that was torn down earlier this year?", asked Janine.

"Yes. I guess I just needed to do this to clear my head after everything that happened", said Alexandra as she gets up and both walk out of the park at the entrance at Gracie Mansion on 88th street and East End Avenue.

THE END


End file.
